Chapter 29: A Bright and Beautiful Season, Gathering Heroes (Part 2)

  Su Can keenly noticed Xue Yi Yang's abnormality, then looked at Li Ai who stood up with a smug face, seeing that they seemed to have encountered some kind of surprise, and roughly understood what was going on in her heart.

  There were at least twenty to thirty students from Class One present, roughly half the class. As soon as Li Ai said that, everyone on the big table turned around, and it was clear that many of them knew Xue Yi Yang. Some even greeted him warmly and invited the three of them over. However, Li Ai and his small clique from Class One, although still smiling, seemed somewhat sinister in their demeanor towards them.

  Xue Yi Yang couldn't refuse, and since he had a good relationship with the people here, he ended up bringing Su Can and Liu Rui along, putting them in the same circle.

  "Xue Yiyang?" Someone from a table on the side called out Xue Yiyang.

  Su Can and Liu Rui looked over, their hearts suddenly skipping a beat for no reason. At the table next to them were several girls. The most eye-catching one was wearing a light pink tight-fitting tank top, with fitted sports pants on her lower body, and a pair of red Nike sneakers. Her hair was parted into two braids at the crown of her head, hanging down smoothly, with a delicate face, perfect arched eyebrows, and beautiful eyes. She was smiling while looking at Xue Yi Yang, her eyes scanning Su Can and Liu Rui's faces as she chewed on a straw from a drink.

  Su Chan vaguely knew the identity of this girl, but for a moment it was still a bit vague, after all, that was a very distant memory. However, thinking about it now felt wonderful, and seeing her again made his heart inexplicably beat faster.

  "Oh, Ling Shan, you're here too!" Xue Yi Yang seemed to have found a reason to avoid Li Ai's table and came over to sit down with Su Can and the others, scratching the back of his head in embarrassment. He was also acquainted with Chen Ling Shan, and running into her at this stage lifted his gloomy mood that had been brought on by Li Ai's group.

  The girl in front of him was actually Chen Lingshan. Su Can smiled wryly, it was the girl he had a crush on during his elementary school days.

  It was also Xue Yi Yang who mistakenly thought that Su Can was preparing to take the exam for his old love, which could be considered as his first love. It was quite coincidental that Chen Ling Shan was a beautiful girl at that time, and Su Can believed that there were countless people secretly in love with her. He was just one of them, and he couldn't even get a chance to express his feelings. Later on, it was known that Chen Ling Shan was very popular in their school, and she later went on to attend Beiwai. It's not clear what she did afterwards, whether she became a model or an actress, but she wasn't particularly famous.

  Chen Lingshan nodded at Xue Yiyang, and then the girl next to her also started teasing Xue Yiyang with a few words.

  It seems that Xue Yi Yang didn't plan to introduce himself and Liu Rui to the girls at this table, but instead, it made Liu Rui frequently show a displeased expression. Xue Yi Yang pretended not to see it and looked towards the barbecue stall, "What do you want to eat? I'll go grill some."

  A girl smiled and said, "No need, we're a unified group here where everyone chips in for their own share. You can roast whatever you want to eat yourself, and we'll take our own."

  Xue Yi Yang was a bit unhappy at this time, and somehow he seemed like an outsider who didn't fit in with you guys. However, someone patted him on the shoulder, and Xue Yi Yang's classmate Wang Xuebing, who organized the gathering, hastily appeared to mediate the situation. "What's going on, Xue Yi Yang? Are you bringing your friends to the party? If you don't mind, why not join us? We can all chip in some money first and then split it evenly later. It's up to you guys whether we make it happen or not."

  Li Ai was a bit depressed, originally they said that everyone in their circle was there, but looking at Xue Yi Yang, he was not very happy, and also looked at Su Can and Liu Rui, feeling that these two were not comfortable either, wanting to pick out some right and wrong, who knew that many people on the scene recognized Xue Yi Yang, especially the class flower Chen Ling Shan and his relationship seemed to be good too, this class monitor Wang Xue Bing also got along well with Xue Yi Yang.

  In the circle of No. 1 Middle School, it's quite realistic that if you want to gain recognition and respect from others, your family should have power; if not, at least you should be rich; if not, then your grades should be excellent, making people think you're someone with a future, very outstanding, only then will they respect you. Especially for students like Li Ai who are quite popular in No. 1 Middle School. Now Xue Yiyang has two powerful backers, Wang Xuebing and Chen Lingshan, supporting him; if he makes one wrong move, he'll get himself into trouble.

  Although he couldn't openly ask for a discount, he smiled and said, "Xue Bing, you're not being very reasonable. We've already eaten and had fun for half the day, and now you want them to pay the full amount? Do you think their parents are all as wealthy as Zhang Xi's family? Can't we just split it so that each of us pays 20 yuan? It's just a small token."

  Zhang Xi is the leading figure in their circle, with a family business background and a grandfather who is said to be a leader in the city, someone who can resolve any disputes with just one phone call. Unlike Li Ai's usual arrogant and overbearing attitude, Zhang Xi is not as intimidating, but those who offend him often end up in a miserable situation. Li Ai's words are clearly hinting at something, implying that Xue Yi Yang's family is only middle-class and cannot be compared to theirs. On the surface, it seems like she is looking out for Xue Yi Yang, but her words are actually laced with disdain and insult. Those who know about the conflict between the two can't help but notice the underlying implication in her words.

  Several girls stared at Xue Yi Yang with ulterior motives, Chen Ling Shan glanced at Li Ai, her expression somewhat displeased.

  Wang Xuebing slapped his forehead, "Yes! This is my fault, I didn't say anything, and everyone has been active until now..."

  Su Can raised his head and looked at Li Ai, who had a look of watching them in an awkward situation, then glanced at Wang Xuebing and smiled, "Originally, how much activity fee does one person need?"

  "Originally it was 50 yuan, now if you join, let's just calculate 20 yuan per person!"

  Xue Yi Yang and Liu Rui exchanged a glance, Su Can clearly saw that the expressions of both people relaxed a bit, they only had thirty yuan on them, which was already a considerable amount for junior high school students at that time. At that time, if someone had thirty yuan, it could support playing for a long time. Like activities where one person pays fifty yuan, it's a bit too expensive for them.

  Although the two of them wanted to splurge in front of Li Ai, their abilities were limited and they didn't have enough money. Whenever the three of them went out together, Su Can's money was always the least, and sometimes the other two wouldn't even let him pay, so now they didn't expect anything from him either.

  Who would have thought that Su Can would take out his wallet, and with a rustling sound, reveal a neat stack of blue 100-yuan bills inside? Of course, there were also some smaller denominations of 50 yuan, but the thick wad was astonishing. Even for an adult, this amount could be equivalent to two months' salary!

  Then Su Can took out a 100 yuan bill and a 50 yuan bill from his pocket, handed them to Wang Xuebing, "Do what you should do, we can't make an exception either, let's just follow the principle of more refunding less supplement."

  Then he put the wallet back into his pocket while Xue Yi Yang and Liu Rui's eyes were completely fixed on it.

  The two little guys both swallowed their Adam's apples, clearly shocked and bewildered by Su Can's sudden "gilding".

  In this era, the average salary in Xia Hai City is around 400-500 yuan. Even for a civil servant like Da Shu's level, the salary is only around 900-1000 yuan. So, the 1,000 yuan in Su Can's wallet is already a huge sum of money that ordinary junior high school students like them can't usually get their hands on, unless it's during holidays or special occasions when they might receive a large amount of money.

  Wang Xuebing took the money, pulled out a notebook and made a note. He was also a clever person, seeing that Su Can's every move was extraordinary, maybe he was also some kind of big shot, so he didn't show any arrogant attitude at all.

  Li Ai ate a turtle, and was difficult to be solved by Su Can's Tai Chi push hand. He felt very uncomfortable in his heart, especially when he saw the bulging money in Su Can's bag, and he was even more jealous of him. He stared at him fiercely, but Su Can didn't get angry, and instead smiled faintly at him. He didn't plan to make a scene with these junior high school students in front of him.

  The girls sitting opposite them treated them with vastly different attitudes, Chen Lingxuan obviously saw Su Can's calm demeanor in the face of Li Ai's disregard, and her eyes flickered as she paid extra attention to Su Can.

  "Dou Dizhu, if it's a man, he must play Dou Dizhu. My cousin in Chengdu has gone crazy for it. In high school, while the teacher is lecturing, they would secretly form a circle and play intensely. The results of the final exams are not on the same level."

  Is it necessary for men to fight against the landlord? What kind of saying is this? Although they were reluctant, Su Can and his three companions were pushed onto the mahjong table by the crowd.

  Li Ai came down and discussed with them in that circle about Su Can. Several people already treated Su Can as a sheep to be slaughtered at will. The card game "Doudizhu" was not like the must-play online chess project of later generations, but it had just been transmitted from Chengdu, the provincial capital, to Xiashi, and those who were sensitive to fashion trends in that circle started playing first, because they contacted earlier, their skills were more advanced, and they won more and lost less in today's gathering.

  Most of the participants had also heard of this card game for the first time, and they started playing as soon as they learned it. They lost more often and didn't even know how to count cards or play poker face, a basic technique that everyone would master later on, so Li Ai and others won big.

  Su Can and the other two ate some barbecue, Liu Rui and Xue Yi Yang couldn't resist the temptation of the people next to them, and finally joined the Dou Di Zhu table, feeling that this type of card game was novel and interesting. Only Su Can noticed that Li Ai's two loyal followers, Sun Zi Yi and Wang Xing, had a gloomy smile on their faces when explaining the rules, while Zhang Xi, the official noble son, was smoking a cigarette and ignoring them with the people around him playing cards.

  It turned out that he had taken himself as a big sheep, Su Can thought to himself, and also planned to teach these municipal middle school students a lesson. They came one after another, really thinking that the three of them were easy to bully. Besides, looking at Xue Yiyang's appearance, he usually suffered a lot in No. 1 Middle School, and earlier when he spent money, it made the two of them look good. Now, taking action to punish the other side would also be a way to give Xue Yiyang an opportunity to vent his anger, which was a good thing.

  Thinking of this, Su Can nodded and smiled at Sun Ziyi and Wang Xing who were expecting them to start on the field. "I understand the general gameplay, it's really a novel thing, they might need some time to digest, why don't we play first?"

  "Alright, but this time it's really a gamble! One card for one yuan, dare to play?" Sun Ziyi said loudly, and the people around him were also shocked. Earlier, when they played with the crowd, it was just one card for five jiao, and they all won nearly forty yuan. Now, suddenly doubling the stakes, those who lost earlier were surprised, but didn't dare say much in front of Li Ai and others.

  "Is it a bit too much of a gamble..." As soon as he heard the sound of one card and one block, Xue Yiyang's heart jumped up in a very uncompetitive manner. Although he didn't know how Su Can became so rich, after all, he was his good brother. If he lost and went out, he would also feel a pang in his heart, especially if he lost to Li Ai's group.

  "Five yuan?" Su Can frowned, "Usually 'run fast' plays five yuan per piece, today just come with five yuan, anyway I'm playing for the first time, if you play, play happily..."

  Sunzi Yi and Wang Xingxin suddenly had an idea, although they were confident, but five yuan per card, this is a big deal, you know that sometimes fighting the landlord can make others not play a single card, holding thirteen cards in hand, that's terrifying to settle accounts.

  While hesitating, Li Ai suddenly pushed Sun Ziyi and Wang Xing, smiled, "Alright, no problem, since you want to play, we usually play around this level anyway, come on."

  The two of them gritted their teeth. This time, if they couldn't even beat this rookie who had only played "Run Fast", then they might as well quit!

  Then Su Can started playing a game of "Doudizhu" with Sun Ziyi and Wang Xing, with each card worth 5 yuan, under the astonished gaze of Xue Yiyang and Liu Rui.

  The scene was thrilling and shocking, with more and more people gathering around. After all, five yuan per card, this gamble was indeed heart-stirring.

  "One hundred and ten, one hundred and fifteen, one hundred and twenty... one hundred and sixty-five!" Xue Yi Yang slapped the table, excited to the point of almost jumping up. After more than a dozen rounds of poker, Su Can had won a total of 165 yuan, which was not equal to the share they had just contributed, all of which had been handed over by Li Ai and others on their behalf!

  Looking at Sunziyi, Wangxing and Li Ai's side, they lost very badly.

  They came over here in droves, and even Zhang Xi couldn't help but throw away his cigarette butt and take action. When playing cards, he smoked one cigarette after another.

  He fiercely flicked his cigarette butt and threw down his cards, "Damn it, I've been losing all along!"

  The people around couldn't believe their eyes as they looked at Su Can, who had won big and was flushed with excitement. After all, the stakes were extremely high, and Li Ai, Zhang Xi, and others had been sweating bullets during the game. But Su Can remained calm and composed, not even flinching when he lost occasionally. The girls couldn't help but feel a sense of admiration for him, especially when compared to Zhang Xi's lack of elegance and clumsy behavior. They found themselves involuntarily hoping that Su Can wouldn't lose.

  The crowd around was in an uproar, but Li Ai, Zhang Xi and Sun Zi Yi were gloomy, with a sour look on their faces.

  Sitting back at Chen Lingshan's table, Su Can was surrounded by Xue Yiyang and Liu Rui, who were shoulder to shoulder with him. The girls were all smiling and teasingly asking about Su Can's background, even boldly inquiring about his name.

  Xue Yi Yang gave a thumbs up and said with a smile, "Hey, he's the one I often mentioned to you, Su Can, who had a crush on you back in elementary school!"

  Pfft! Su Can couldn't hold back his Coke and ended up spitting it out.

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